Links from the Times for April 11: Double-dipping

Does one double-dipping bill fit all?State lawmakers are debating whether to ban double dipping. They want to stop the abuse by highly paid officials who leave public office for 30 days and come back to the same job, collecting a salary and a pension. Some want a simple bill, with no exceptions: No public employee could retire and return to the public payroll. Others are looking to craft legislation so that badly needed teachers, police and firefighters could return to work for limited hours or entry level pay. | Double dipper database:Check who's getting what|It's Your Times: "Same ole Florida politics."

Hernando School Board asks its vendors for a discountFaced with the prospect of a growing budget deficit, the Hernando County School Board last month gave superintendent Wayne Alexander permission to try renegotiating contracts with the district’s many vendors and contractors. Alexander didn’t promise a lot of savings for the district’s nearly $420 million annual budget. Still, he said, if a little bit of money could be saved in buying everything from milk to motor oil, why not try? But the letter Alexander sent out on March 10 has left some vendors scratching their heads, and perhaps even checking with their lawyers. | Read the letter to vendors (PDF)

Hundreds march and mourn for Paris Whitehead-HamiltonMore than 200 strong, mourners for a little girl who was murdered Sunday in St. Petersburg marched along 18th Avenue S in Bartlett Park clutching posters of Paris Whitehead-Hamilton. Dozens of family and friends wore her picture on white T-shirts. Later, more than 500 people came to the wake to pay their respect. | Audio slideshow:Listen to the marchers.